[Blazer]

Okay then humor is important and musicians are no different from everybody else when it comes to having a laugh. Let's talk about the performances where people humor the kind of music they are known for playing, the kind of scene they belong to and most of all themselves.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience covering The Troggs' "Wild thing" at the Monterey Pop festival 1967

The Experience was scheduled to play after the Who's set on the main stage. Those familiar with The Who know that they are impossible to follow in both the intensity of their performance and the sheer anarchy of them destroying their gear. Seeing this as a challenge Hendrix pulled out all the stops but did so in a very humerous way. He played Bob Dylan's "Like a rolling stone" skipping a verse and actually saying "I know, I skipped a verse" and introducing bassplayer Noel Redding as Dylan's grandma. But the big final was a cover of the Troggs' major hit "Wild thing". Where he played Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the night" during the solo and actually adding even more shtick by changing the line "So come on, hold me tight" into "Suck it to me one more time." He then preceeded to wreck his guitar in the most absurd manner ever thought up. It made for the most hillarious gig Hendrix ever played and his most memorable.

Paul Simon "Still crazy after all these years" live at the Halloween special of Saturday Night live in 1975.

This part performance/part skit came to be when Paul Simon was wondering how serious people would take him if he performed one of his most serious songs wearing a "Special" outfit.

Elvis Costello "Radio-radio" live at SNL

"Saturday night live" is the kind of show that has been planned in advance in detail And with this performance Costello threw everything awry and was banned from the network. But a few years later when the Beastie Boys were to appear on SNL they brought along a special guest. And the stunt was repeated. (but I couldn't find it on Youtube)